Just a few days after Massachusetts announced that Winthrop’s Pat Kelsey would be its next head coach, and just minutes before his opening press conference welcoming him to the program, Kelsey backed out of the job. This was shocking news for a program that thought it landed a great hire in a successful coach from an up-and-coming program, but now it seems that the search will continue for Derek Kellogg’s replacement.
Winthrop’s Pat Kelsey has had a change of heart and will not take the UMass job, sources told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 23, 2017
All of a sudden, Kelsey had a change of heart, and it looks like it’s back to Winthrop. This is disappointing news for Massachusetts, but Jeff Goodman of ESPN reports that the Minutemen have a number of other candidates on their radar including Joe Dooley, Micah Shrewsberry, John Becker, and Chris Caputo.
Bamford: “I’m under the impression that (Kelsey) is going back to WInthrop.”
— Steve Hewitt (@steve_hewitt) March 23, 2017
This does really suck for a team that thought it got a great hire, and it does mean it’s back to the drawing boards for Massachusetts. The Minutemen finished 15-18 last season and have a very strong rising sophomore class that they’ll try to keep heading into next season. They’re going to need a good coach in order to do that.
Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and check out our forum for more A-10 content.
Massachusetts fans: Follow @A10TalkUMass